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Author: Byrne, John Francis

Biography:

BYRNE, John Francis (c. 1782-1858: Dorset County Express)

He was born in Antigua to Mary Crawford (d before 1801), sister of Charles Crawford (q.v.), and her husband John Byrne. Mary belonged to a plantation-owning family. Death notices give his age as 76 in 1858 but his birth year is given as 1786 in the 1851 Census. It is not known when he moved to England but he was living in Bath in 1801 when an uncle, John Francis Crawford, died. Crawford had amended his will to leave the one-third share of his estate intended for Mary (Crawford) Byrne, to her son. Byrne also inherited from Charles Crawford when he died in 1815. He became an ensign with the 11th (North Devonshire) Regiment of Foot in 1803 and rose through the ranks in the army becoming at least a captain and, possibly, lieutenant-colonel. He married and had children but reliable information on names and dates is scarce. His Four Letters on the Corn Laws, Addressed to the Rt. Honourable Robert Peel, Bart. was published in 1841 and argued for repeal. He was a widower by the time of the 1851 Census and died at his home at Ringwood, Hampshire, on 25 Aug. 1858, leaving an estate of £8000. His Ovid’s Epistles, Translated into Verse was privately printed in Southampton in 1858, probably after his death. (ancestry.co.uk 27 July 2023; LBS; findmypast.co.uk 27 July 2023; Dorset County Express 14 Sept. 1858)

 

Books written (1):

London: for the author by Ebenezer Palmer, 1835